Strangers Like Us
by kazumigirl
Summary: Post film. Jane and Tarzan are happy together in the jungle, but when two journalists from England come looking for Jane and her father, things aren't so peachy. I stink at summaries, so just go ahead and dig in! NOT A MARY SUE
1. Chapter 1

**Strangers Like Us**

Author's note: This is actually a joint-project. My sister and I were on a huge Tarzan kick my senior year of high school, so we bought a spiral notebook, started a fic, and switched back and forth. I recently founded and decided, "why not?" and posted it. Hope you enjoy!

Jane couldn't believe how well she'd adapted to her new life. Of course, the captain had been sympathetic and brought back most of their things, so she was still cheating a little. She didn't think real jungle live included cooking wear, cloth clothes, and medicine. Either way, it was in no way, England.

She carefully pinned her hair up into a messy bun, took her sketchbook, and set off into the jungle. Her book was nearing full, filled with sketches of various plants and animals, and she had resorted to using the back pages of previous drawings, and even the back of the book itself. It didn't bother her, though. Drawing was enjoyable, therapeutic even, but it hardly put a dent in the rest of recreational time. Jane was part of the jungle now, and the jungle offered so much more than models for pencil sketches.

Back in England, Jane had felt so confined, trapped even. Her father had educated her solely for companion purposes. After the death of her mother, he'd needed someone to bond with on an intellectual level. Jane, however, had still been expected to live in a social bubble outside of her home and her father. She couldn't act silly, she couldn't argue her theories, she couldn't be a person. She had to be a prim and proper _lady_. She had to be dainty and stiff all the time. Here in the jungles of Africa, she was completely free, and she loved it. She loved getting muddy, trying crazy things like vine swinging, and even sampling different plants insects. What she loved most, however, was being able to love _him_.

"Jane is going out to draw?" Speaking of _him_, he'd landed right in front of her, just outside of her tent.

"Mm," Jane nodded, smiling. " I'm going out to the pond to sketch some of the elephants." She cocked her head slightly. "Would you like to come, Tarzan?"

Jane also felt bad about having lied to Tarzan. After she'd kissed him, he'd asked about it, all smiles. Embarrassed and panicked, Jane had quickly explained that she'd _fallen_ on him. She knew that _he_ knew it was an obvious lie, but just happy to have her around, Tarzan hadn't questioned it further.

They traveled down to the pond together, and Jane couldn't help but notice how hard Tarzan was trying to walk upright and not revert to his crouching. Walking was obviously not the quickest way for him, and pigeon-toed, he impatiently traveled beside her.

"It was kind of your mother to gather fruit and plants for my father and me," Jane commented. "She seems very nice."

"Mom likes…" He paused, furrowing his eyebrows. He'd called Kala 'Mom' in his native tongue, and he wasn't sure if he'd just utterly confused the human girl. "Jane." He felt proud, sure of himself that he'd picked the correct English word.

Jane grinned at his mistake, but was proud of him, and herself for teaching him. She was also flattered by his constant attempts to apply them. Tarzan grinned too and was stopped short when he was tackled. Jane merely rolled her eyes because it was only Terk. If she'd gotten used to any gorilla, it was _that _one.

"So what are you two hairless chimps up to today?" The ape asked her cousin, casually examining her fingers.

"Jane's going to draw," Tarzan explained. "I decided to tag along."

Terk glanced at Jane, who was fidgeting with her red skirt, and then back at Tarzan. "Is _drawing_ where she goes and stares at stuff and copies it with that bad-tasting stick?"

"What's she saying?" Jane asked, crouching down beside the pair.

"She's not just copying stuff." Tarzan rolled his eyes. "She's making art."

"Oh yah?" Terk cocked an eyebrow. "What's _art_, Mr. Smarty-pants?"  
Tarzan cleared his throat awkwardly, unsure of how to answer. What was art anyway? Jane had showed him a million pictures by other…_drawers_…like her. Some of things that meant nothing to him, and even bored him. Still, after all he'd seen, what was it exactly? Jane looked between the two, aware of Terk's victory and Tarzan's discomfort, and asked the other human, "What's going on, Tarzan?"

"She's asking what art is," Tarzan muttered, rubbing his calloused palm on the back of his neck.

Jane smiled and sat down before Terk, smoothing out her skirt. She held out her sketchbook. The small gorilla took it, sniffed it, and skimmed through the pages, showing little interest.

"How do I say it's _creative_?" Jane asked Tarzan.

" 'Creative'?" Tarzan repeated, cocking his head, unfamiliar with the word.

"It's unique, it's expressive…" Jane trailed off, knowing the explanation meant nothing to him. She sighed. "It's special. Something you enjoy because it means something to you, even if others don't understand it."

Tarzan smiled, like he'd had an epiphany. "So Jane is _creative_ to Tarzan?"

The young woman blushed. "Well, not exactly, but, um, thank you…" she tucked some hair behind her ear. "Creativity is something you _do_."

Tarzan translated this to Terk the best he could, and the gorilla rolled her eyes. This made Jane laugh out loud, and she said to the wild man, "Tell her I'll draw her, if she likes."

Terk smiled when Tarzan translated that part, and eagerly plopped herself in front of Jane. Tarzan crawled behind the woman and carefully studied her hand and she magically transferred Terk onto paper. He smiled slightly, watching the other human squint and bite her lip in concentration, and he wanted to touch them, like when they'd first met. Of course, and unfortunately, he knew personal space now, and did no such thing. Jane drew up her knees, and asked Tarzan without looking at him, "How do I say, 'sit still'?"

Tarzan made a series of grunting sounds and Terk frowned at him. "You sound like my mother."

Jane mimicked the sound and Terk scowled. Tarzan laughed and shrugged helplessly.

---

"It's sweltering hot, Jonathan!" Anna Norton shrieked as she unsuccessfully tried to wipe sweat away that poured down her forehead. "And I can't believe we're here! How could you do this to me?!"

The man in front of her sighed as he stopped, giving the struggling woman time to catch up. "I didn't make you come, Anna. You _chose_ to go." He grinned, glancing ahead. "Just think if it's true."

"That Professor Porter and his daughter are still alive?" Anna spat, finally catching up. "Get real, Branwell! They were nuts to begin with, and they were probably eaten by gorillas!" She stopped to catch her breath. "And we'll be done for sure too. We're journalists, not explorers."

Jonathan Branwell was not listening anymore. Instead, he was examining something he'd picked up off of the ground. It was a torn sheet of sketch paper with several drawings of gorillas on it. He squinted, making out the sketch of a human arm on one of the worn and ripped corners. He turned to Anna, "If they're alive, it'll make headlines everywhere."

Anna rolled her eyes and fanned herself. "Whatever!" She trudged along back to the camp, griping as she did so. "When I get back to England, I'm taking a long hot bath!"

She wiped away more sweat. "Gorillas! Hideous, ugly, scary things! Eww!" She shuttered, and then, into the jungle she yelled at the top of her lungs, "I HATE ALL OF YOU! EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS PLACE!!!!"

It was then that she heard a low growl and heard rustling in some nearby brush. Slowly, a leopard slinked out and stared at her. Anna's face drained of color and she screamed again.

----

Jane sat with Terk, and only Terk. Tarzan had left to go run an errand for Dr. Porter. Jane watched and listened with interest as Terk tried to teach her how to sharpen her foreign language skills. She picked up random things, slowly speaking each sound for the object's name. Jane copied her clumsily, not quite understanding without Tarzan around to guide her.

"Ooh eeh eeeee oh…!" Terk dropped the fruit she was currently holding, and her eyes widened.

Jane's brows furrowed, and she turned around to see what had Terk so spooked, and she nearly wet herself. A leopard stared back at her, merely centimeters away from her face.

---

Meanwhile, as he traveled closer to the sound of water, Jonathan heard a woman scream. A woman that wasn't his business partner. He picked up his pace and quickly started towards the sound of the scream. "That's not Anna," he muttered as he awkwardly made his way through the thick vegetation. As he struggled with a particular sticky bush with lots of insects, he caught sight of a brunette woman running from a leopard.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" The woman ran with more success than he did, occasionally turning to hit the animal with a big stick. "TARZAN!" She cried.

Jonathan finally got loose and quickly joined at her pounding the wild cat with another stick he found. Of course, it wasn't very successful, as Jane was too confused to speak and Jonathan had no clue about fighting leopards. The leopard clawed him across the chest, and leapt for Jane.

But alas, Tarzan's battle cry rang through the tree tops, and he suddenly swooped down and tackled the beast. After several minutes of brute struggling, Tarzan managed to make the cat howl, and it disappeared into the brush, limping. The wild man made his way over to Jane and began examining her, looking her over for injuries. After deciding she was not physically hurt, he opened his mouth to say some affectionate ape-man words, but stopped. He slowly turned and jumped when he saw Jonathan.

----

"AHHH!!!!" Anna, unfortunately, was still running for her life as the second leopard chased her around. "Stop chasing me! Someone help!!!!"

Tarzan tensed up and he whipped around, pausing in examining the new human. He heard a scream that sounded like Jane's but wasn't Jane.

"Anna!" Jonathan's face paled and he took off running, feebly. Tarzan turned and pointed to Jane, motioning for her to stay put, and then zoomed off ahead of Jonathan, who had tripped over a thorn-filled weed.

Anna ran until she came to the edge of a cliff, and then looked around helplessly. The leopard jumped to pounce on her, but Tarzan flew forward and grabbed her just in the knick of time. They both watched from a vine as the large animal went tumbling over the cliff's edge. Tarzan then carried Anna down as she screamed and finally made his way back to Jane, still half-carrying the shrieking woman. He set her down and plopped down himself, scratching his head. He was so confused by all of this.

Anna was on the brink of hyperventilating, and Jane stared at everyone. Suddenly the silence was erupted by everyone talking at frantically at once. Anna alternately screamed at Jonathan, introduced herself to Jane, and marveled at Tarzan. Jonathan alternately tried to defend himself to Anna, bombarded Jane with questions, and stared dumbfounded at Tarzan. Jane kept trying to answered them both, while keeping Tarzan at bay, and Tarzan frowned curiously at the trio, wondering what was going on.

To Be Continued…


	2. Chapter 2

**Strangers Like Us: Chapter 2**

"ENOUGH!" Jane finally erupted and everyone stopped. She placed a hand to her chest and took a deep breath. "Alright," she began. "Let's all just calm down for a moment and-"

" 'Calm down'?!" Anna repeated, pushing some honey blonde hair from her eyes. "I've never been so…so…_un-calm_ in my entire life!" She jabbed her index finger into Jonathan's chest. "This is all your fault! You and you stupid search for-" she stopped abruptly and stared at the other woman. "Jane Porter…"

Jane laughed nervously and wriggled her bare toes in the dirt. "Mmm…yes….that's, uh, that's me!"

Anna's jaw dropped and she shook her slightly, as if snapping out of a dream. "You're really…I mean, you can't be!" She stammered helplessly. "You're, well, gorgeous!" She smiled a little. "I'm sorry, I'd always pictured you a bit more…_plain_…"

Jonathan gestured his thumb at Tarzan, who was sniffing him. "I take it this isn't Dr. Porter, though, correct?"

Anna glanced at the wild man and blushed slightly. "Whoever he is, he saved my life," she said, smiling. "Thank you, Sir."

Tarzan watched as the fair-haired human held out her hand. He uncurled his fingers and placed the palm of his hand to hers. "Tarzan," he told her and Anna's blush deepened.

"Friend of yours?" Jonathan asked Jane, cocking an eyebrow. Unlike Anna and Jane, he spoke with a crisp, Irish accent. One Tarzan had never heard before.

"It's a long story, but yes," Jane replied. "Tarzan is, well, he's…" she had to pause a moment. What was Tarzan anyway? He was definitely more than a friend, but how much more?

Jonathan stretched, dusting off his baggy trousers, and held out his hand to Jane. "I've got time-tell me about it back at camp?"

Jane shook his hand, and then dusted her skirt off, suddenly feeling embarrassingly unclean compared to the journalists. "Sorry," she said. "You must think I'm a mess."

Jonathan rolled his eyes and replied, "Come on, I'll put on some tea." He winked at her. "I grill a mean fish."

Anna glanced at Tarzan as they started off, a strange expression on his face as he watched Jane and Jonathan walk ahead. The blonde woman, curvier and paler than Jane, Tarzan noticed, smiled at him. "Would you like to walk me to camp?" she asked sweetly, holding out her hand.

Tarzan only shrugged slightly and followed her. He didn't even notice he had reverted back to all fours. After they left, Terk emerged from the bushes and took Jane's sketchbook. Her portrait was only half finished.

---

"I still can't believe it," Jonathan said as he handed Jane a plate of grilled fish and rice. "Jane Porter-alive and surviving in the African Jungles!"

Anna, who had temporarily disappeared to change into a sundress, returned and asked, "What about your father?" she smiled at Tarzan, who was sniffing the skewered fish over a small fire.

"He's here too," Jane replied. "He spends most of his time exploring." She turned to Jonathan as she ate. "This is really good," she commented.

Anna handed Tarzan a cup of tea and he dipped his fingers into it. Amazed by the hot liquid, he dipped two more fingers in. Anna laughed and asked Jane, "Who is this handsome bloke, anyway?"

Jane felt a twinge at the comment, but replied, "His name's Tarzan. Daddy and I found him living among the gorillas." She smiled at the wild man and added, "They're his family."

Though he didn't understand every word she had said, Tarzan got the idea and beamed proudly.

"We decided to stay because we love it here," Jane continued. "With the gorillas, I mean."

"And Tarzan too?" Anna raised her eyebrows. She didn't know if it was just her or not, but Tarzan seemed far more interesting than a bunch of overgrown monkeys.

"And Tarzan," Jane agreed, somewhat hesitant.

Jonathan finished serving fish and was cut short of talking when he handed Tarzan a plate and it shattered before him. The ape-man stared down at the broken glass and then at Jonathan. Jane swallowed a mouthful of rice and stood up from her place on the ground. Nudging Tarzan away from the mess, she explained to the others, "He uses his knuckles more than his fingers. He's never held a plate before."

Anna stopped chewing and glanced at Jonathan, who paused thoughtfully and said, "No matter! I, um, I don't think I have any bowls-"

"Jane teach Tarzan?" The jungle man suddenly spoke, somewhat meekly.

"Of course, Tarzan!" Jane replied softly.

Anna set her plate down on the fold-out, bamboo table and asked, "May I try?"

"To hold a plate?" Jonathan teased.

"No!" Anna rolled her eyes. "To show him." She looked at Tarzan, and then at Jane. "Please?"

Jane, for some reason, didn't really want her to, but she smiled and nodded anyway. "Go ahead." She watched with discomfort as Anna took Tarzan's hands in her own, and uncurled his fingers. She placed another plate in his palms and maneuvered his digits correctly around the china, explaining her actions in monosyllables. "See?" She squealed, grinning as he successfully held it by himself. "It's simple, innit?"

Tarzan stared at the plate. There wasn't anything that amazing about it. He turned to Jane and saw her frowning. He immediately tossed the plate like it was on fire and crawled over to her.

"Hmm! Hmm!" He remembered where he was. "Jane does not like…" he glanced up to remember the word. "_plate_?"

Jane jumped at having her train of thought broken. "What? Oh! No, plates are good, Tarzan." She laughed. "People eat off of them."

Tarzan observed her face, having forgotten about the plate. He twisted his hand around and lifted a piece of her hair from her eyes. "Jane is sad?" He asked softly.

She blushed, moving his hand away from her face. "I'm fine, really."

Tarzan continued to stare. Jane's brows furrowed slightly and she repeated more sternly, "I'm fine, Tarzan." She turned to Anna and Jonathan, who were both gawking. "Um, so, the fish was lovely!" She smoothed out her skirt. "I should get going." She tucked some hair behind her ears. "I need to find my father."

"Wait!" Jonathan stood up and knocked his stool over. "You're just going to leave?! We have to come with you! I have to meet your father and get and interview going and everything else! The ship will be here in a few weeks!"

Jane spun around. " 'Interview'? What are you talking about?"

Anna stood up. "For everyone back home! They'll be so glad to know you two are alive! It'll be huge!"

Jane huffed. "Pardon me, but we don't want to be found. We're happy! Daddy's never been so happy in his life, and-"

Jonathan cut her off. "You must come back! Or at least give us the interview! Our story could become famous!"

Tarzan looked back and forth between them. He may have been ignorant to these things, but he did know one thing. They were trying to take Jane away. He suddenly stuck his chest out, pounded it, and grabbed Jane. He scuttled up a nearby tree with her and huffed at the gawking journalists below.

"Tarzan!" Jane stared down at the other humans, slightly embarrassed by Tarzan's behavior. It didn't help that he began to climb higher.

"Wait!" Anna called as they disappeared into the thick foliage above. She turned to Jonathan and said, "I hope she's alright."

Jonathan sat on a tree root. "I'm sure she's fine. That crazy bloke's not dangerous. Just, well, crazy."

---

Tarzan finally set Jane down when he was sure they were far away enough from Anna and Jonathan. Jane grunted as Tarzan plopped her down before him, and they stared at each other for a moment.

"Well?" She smoothed her hair back. "What was that all about?"

Tarzan paced nervously, then squatted back down in front of her. "Jane is going?"

Jane gave him a funny look, and then realization crossed her face. "Oh, no! Of course not, Tarzan."

The wild man continued to stare at her, unconvinced. Jane put her hand on his and said gently, "Tarzan, I belong here. I'm not going anywhere."

Tarzan's face softened and he swung his legs over the thick branch they perched on, kicking his feet. He felt relief wash over him, and he was happy. For the time being, anyway.

Meanwhile, down below, Anna and Jonathan began tidying up dishes. Jonathan sighed as he picked up pieces of broken plates and said, "I don't understand what's she's so upset about."

Anna glanced at him. "You heard her. She wants to be left alone." She smiled and her clapped her hands together. "This means we can go back to England now, right?"

The man frowned at her. "What? Anna, we found Professor Porter and his daughter." He walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Don't you think we've worked too hard just to go back empty-handed?"

Anna shrugged him off. "But they want to stay here," she pointed out.

"We're not going to take them away," Jonathan replied, rolling his eyes. "We just want to know about their lives here in the jungle, to learn about-"

Anna cut him off. "You say 'they' like you mean it," she snorted. "You just want to know about _her_." She cocked an eyebrow. "I saw the way you looked at Jane Porter."

Jonathan blushed and cleared his throat. "She's a remarkable scholar, you know." He sighed and ran a hand through his messy black hair. "Her father talks about her in all of his books." He smiled. "She illustrates them, by the way."

Anna tugged at her ponytail and spat, "Alright, alright! We'll write the article and get the interviews!" She glanced at the shattered plate on the ground. "So what do you think of Tarzan?"

Jonathan shrugged. "He's a character, that's for sure."

Anna picked up one of the broken pieces and smiled dreamily. "Now there's something to write about," she held the shard up to the sunlight. " 'Mysterious stranger in the jungle rescues journalist'." She sighed. "_Handsome_, mysterious stranger."

---

To Be Continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jane and Tarzan found Dr. Porter with some of the younger gorillas. As usual, they were playing with his things-this time he'd brought them pots and pans. As Tarzan crouched down to chat and wrestle with them, Jane sat down beside her father.  
"Daddy," she began. "There are people in the jungle. Two journalists. They're looking for us."  
Dr. Porter hardly seemed phased. "Oh, yes. I've seen them. City-slackers, if you ask me." He chuckled. "They can hardly move through the grass!"  
"Daddy," Jane groaned, letting her eyes roll back in her head. "This is serious. If Jonathan and Anna reveal us, we'll be forced to leave!"  
Tarzan stopped in mid-scuffle and looked over at his two human companions. _Leave_? He knew that word.  
"Why, Darling?" Dr. Porter asked. "What makes you think that?"  
"If the world finds us then they'll find Tarzan and the gorillas," Jane explained. "And I know there are more people out there like Clayton."  
She buried her head in her drawn-up knees briefly before looking back up. "Daddy, I just can't allow that to happen."  
Tarzan glanced down at the ground sadly. Maufii, one of the younglings, climbed up on his head. "What's wrong, Tahzan?" he asked in his babyish lisp. "What's Jane saying?"  
All of the little apes loved Jane. Tarzan brushed his knuckles across Maufii's fur. "Just boring, grown-up stuff," he lied.  
----

That night, back in the jungle canopies where he slept and watched over the family, Tarzan tossed and turned, sighing and grunting. He pulled at his hair and shifted uncomfortably in the leaves. His mother finally sat up. "You sound like you rolled into an anthill," she joked. "What's bothering you?"  
Tarzan sat up too. "Jane said she and her father might leave," he confessed sadly. "I don't want them to go."  
Kala stroked some of his hair. "Terk told me that there are two other…_humans_ in the jungle. This wouldn't have anything to do with them, would it?"  
Tarzan glowered. "One of them is male like me, only like Jane too. He's smart and talkative, and Mom, I hate him."  
Kala chuckled. "Sounds like somebody's getting a case of the green-eyed monster." When Tarzan only scowled harder, she added, "Jane really does care about you. You know that."  
----

Jane sighed as she walked with Jonathan. She had to negotiate with him, somehow. He didn't seem greedy or cold-hearted, just curious and head-strong. As they walked, he remarked, "I love your illustrations."  
Jane stopped walking. "You've read my father's books?"  
"All of them," he nodded. "He-well, both of you have such a transcendentalist orbit, and you just seem to clear the city air, you know?" He smiled shyly. "I've always dreamed this is what the jungle would be like. Just the way you've described them."  
They stopped at the edge of the pond and sat down. Jane tucked some hair behind her ears. "I want it to stay that way," she said quietly. "That's why my father and I disappeared."  
Jonathan nodded. "You know, Jane, the best way to help the gorillas would be to educate people about them." He scooted closer to her. "I could help you! I could organize the funds to protect them as long as you help me enlighten the world!"  
Jane smiled a little. "Really?"  
The man stood up and walked over to the pond's edge, a shallow cliff. "You've certainly enlightened me," he said, shrugging off his shows. "I didn't realize how close we were to apes." He took off his socks and rolled up his pant cuffs and shirt sleeves. " 'cept they're not morally corrupt like us."  
"Like Tarzan," Jane suddenly said.  
Jonathan paused. "Come again?"  
Jane joined him at the edge. "He looks human, but he's nothing like us. He knows nothing of dishonesty and cruelty."  
She wasn't aware that she'd been walking and talking at the same time and lost her footing. She screamed as she plummeted down the cliff, and Jonathan reached for her, but fell down as wel.. They splashed into the water and when they surfaced, Jane was laughing. Jonathan was trying to spray water back out of his nose. "Are you alright?" he coughed.  
"Are you kidding?!" Jane giggled. "That was fantastic!" She shook her hair and then shivered. "It's quite cold, though."  
They swam to the bank and as they climbed out, Jonathan pulled Jane's petite, shivering form close to hm. "Follow me back to camp and I'll get you some dry clothes and hot tea."  
Jane nodded and her teeth chattered. "T-th-thank you."  
As they headed for camp, Jane spoke up. "So you really think I could teach people about gorillas?"  
-----

Anna wandered around, exploring the jungle by herself. She hadn't meant to go so far, but she did and now she was lost.  
"Ugh!" She leaned against a tree. "So much for giving this dump a chance."  
She sat down on a root and took her shoe off to examine her blisters. She moaned miserably and stuffed her foot back into her shoe. "I'm so lost!" She kicked a rock and sent insects flying everywhere. "Gross!"  
"Well," she stood up. "Might as well try and find my way back. AGAIN." She set off in the direction she had came, or thought she'd came, for that matter.  
As she moved further, she kept hearing the sound of water, and eventually she came to the large pond Jane and Jonathan had just left.  
"Wow." She approached the cliff and plopped down. She began scouting the area for a place to get a decent drink of water when something caught her eye. "Tarzan?"  
Tarzan swam around leisurely below her. Ever since he'd discovered swimming as a child, he couldn't get enough of it. He surfaced and shook his head. As he did so, he jumped a bit, spotting the human female.  
"Uh…" Anna's stomach flopped when he stared at her. "Hello, um, Tarzan."  
Tarzan continued to stare and tread water as Anna made her way down the edge.  
"Listen," she said, struggling. "I'm lost and- ooh!" She slipped and caught herself. "I was wondering if you could-" she stopped to concentrate on climbing. As she contemplated on a particular tricky step, Tarzan slipped quietly out of the water and appeared before her. Anna looked up, not expecting to see a glistening Tarzan before her, squeaked and lost her footing once more. Tarzan silently caught her and helped her down. He shook off and began to quietly think aloud, making soft grunting noises in his native tongue. His face brightened and he cleared his throat.  
"Tarzan take Anna back to camp?" he smiled proudly.  
Anna breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes! Exactly! Um, I'm not sure if I remember the correct way, however-"  
Tarzan grabbed her around the waist and took off through the air, into the trees.  
----

Jane opened one eye sleepily and looked around. When she realized her surroundings weren't familiar, she sat up and became wide awake.  
"Oh!" she let out a small laugh. "Right, Jonathan's camp."  
----

Anna screamed the whole time Tarzan swung on the vines. Tarzan didn't think anyone could scream louder than Jane, but how wrong he'd been. When they finally slowed to a stop and landed on the ground, he had to pry Anna's arms off of him. The young woman, close to hyperventilating, burst into tears and began a heavy, loud mixture of sobs and gasps. Tarzan backed away from her, unsure of how to react to her behavior.  
Anna looked at him. "I'll walk from here, alright?" She sniffled. "Um, thank you, Tarzan."  
She started off, unsteady against the jungle turf. Tarzan rolled his eyes and shook his head, quickly catching up to her. He took her by the wrist.  
"What?!" She snapped and then softened a bit. "What's the matter?"  
It took the ape-man a moment to remember her name. "Ann…Anna needs help going back."  
"Why are you so sweet?" Anna took his hand in both of hers. "I guess all the good ones wind up in the jungle picking bugs off the monkeys."  
Tarzan cocked a brow as she turned around, pressing her back to his torso, still gripping his arms. "You're perfect, actually." She turned back around to face him and leaned in closely. "Tarzan, I-" she closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his.  
----

"Anna, we heard you crying and-" Jonathan came into the clearing, followed by Jane. The brunette stopped short in her tracks and Anna pulled away from Tarzan.  
Jane glanced at Anna, and then Tarzan, shaking her head, as if snapping out of a dream. Without another word, she turned on her bare heels and started in the opposite direction. Tarzan moved Anna out of the way and tore after her. He was much faster, so it didn't take him long to catch up.  
"Jane?" He spoke. She didn't answer him. "Jane?" He tried again. She kept walking. "Jane-" he maneuvered in front of her, taking her hand. The young woman ripped it away and slapped him across the face. Shocked, Tarzan staggered backwards. Jane looked as if she might cry for a moment, and then took off running, tripping once, but got back up and kept going.

To Be Continued…


End file.
